Services Offered

Saint Thomas Heart is always leading the way with new treatments, both surgical and non-surgical.

Following is a brief description of a few of the most common procedures we perform:

Angioplasty
Beating Heart Surgery
Coronary Artery Bypass
Heart Failure
Ventricular Assist Device (VAD)
Valve Replacement

Angioplasty
This procedure is used to treat a narrowing or blockage in the coronary arteries. A catheter with a balloon at its tip is inserted into an artery, typically in the leg, and advanced to the blockage in the coronary artery. The balloon is inflated, pressing the blockage against the vessel wall, thereby increasing the opening and improving blood flow through the coronary artery. A stent, which is a piece of wire mesh or a coil, is often used with angioplasty to sustain results.

During a heart attack, an emergency angioplasty can be employed to reopen the blood vessel and re-establish blood flow. Patients undergoing emergency angioplasty have a higher survival rate and a lower complication rate compared to patients who receive thrombolytics (clot-dissolving drugs). Saint Thomas cardiologists and our Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory provide 24-hour availability for emergency angioplasty.

Beating Heart Surgery
Beating Heart Surgery is one of the newest open-heart techniques at Saint Thomas Heart and in the country. Instead of a patient being placed on a heart and lung machine, the patient's heart is kept beating throughout the entire surgery. The results of this procedure have been very positive, with lower mortality, fewer complications and generally a quicker recovery.

Coronary Artery Bypass
When the blood vessels (coronary arteries) to the heart develop narrowing or blockages, the heart muscle does not receive adequate blood flow. To increase blood flow, a vein from the leg or an artery from the chest wall or arm is used in order to bypass the blockage. Coronary artery bypass grafting is one of the most common cardiac surgical procedures, with an estimated 500,000 bypass operations done each year in the United States.

Heart Failure
Heart failure is the leading cause of hospitalization among patients over 65, with more than 400,000 cases diagnosed each year. Saint Thomas Hospital has established an Advanced Heart Failure Program for the treatment of patients with all stages of heart failure. This program offers both consultative and complete health care for patients with heart failure. In addition to state-of-the-art medical and surgical care, heart-failure patients have access to the latest research in drugs, devices and procedures.

Because many patients with severe heart failure will ultimately require surgery, the Advanced Heart Failure Program is fully integrated with our Saint Thomas Heart VAD Center. Our heart failure program designs a multi-disciplinary approach to patients with specific heart failure conditions. This approach has shown to improve patients' quality of life, keeping them out of the hospital and lowering the cost of care. 

Ventricular Assist Device (VAD)
VADs—or Ventricular Assist Devices—are designed for patients with severe heart failure who have exhausted traditional forms of treatment. A VAD implant takes over the pumping function of the left ventricle. It is surgically attached to the left ventricle and the aorta— the main artery that carries oxygenated blood from the left ventricle to the entire body. An external, wearable system—that includes a small controller and two batteries—is attached by an external driveline. The wearable system is either worn under or on top of clothing.    Click here for more information on VADs.

Valve Replacement
Minimally invasive techniques allow the surgeon to replace or repair the heart valves without opening the breastbone. This results in less pain, faster recovery and return to normal activity, lower infection rates, and less visible scarring.

Minimally invasive surgery is available for many procedures, including the mitral valve, aortic valve, tricuspid valve, and atrial septal defect closure. In some patients with coronary artery blockages, a "hybrid" approach is being used with stenting of the blockage and then minimally invasive valve surgery.

If you require valve surgery, a consultation with a cardiothoracic surgeon is available at our hospitals to see if one of these techniques is suitable for you.